New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Boosts Stake in Mastercard Incorporated $MA

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board lifted its position in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) by 7.1% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 40,610 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,700 shares during the period. Mastercard makes up about 0.5% of New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in Mastercard were worth $20,857,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd lifted its holdings in Mastercard by 7.3% in the first quarter. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd now owns 139,844 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $70,089,000 after acquiring an additional 9,504 shares during the period. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan grew its stake in shares of Mastercard by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan now owns 65,414 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $37,344,000 after purchasing an additional 3,768 shares during the period. Marble Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mastercard during the 4th quarter worth $1,328,000. Charles Lim Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Mastercard in the 4th quarter valued at about $15,699,000. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its holdings in shares of Mastercard by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 28,205 shares of the credit services provider’s stock valued at $14,093,000 after purchasing an additional 1,434 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.28% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Mastercard

Here are the key news stories impacting Mastercard this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Mastercard and QNB Group processed Syria’s first international card transaction in more than 15 years. The milestone marks the reopening and modernization of Syria’s international payments infrastructure following the lifting of certain U.S. restrictions. Although the near-term financial contribution is likely to be small, the development creates a potential new market and demonstrates Mastercard’s ability to support payments expansion. Syria marks first international card transaction in more than 15 years with Mastercard and QNB Group
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts have given Mastercard a consensus “Buy” rating. Continued Wall Street support adds to the bullish backdrop, though the rating itself may already be reflected in the share price. Mastercard Incorporated Given Consensus Rating of Buy by Analysts
• Positive Sentiment: Pershing Square founder Bill Ackman added Mastercard to the hedge fund’s portfolio. The purchase may improve investor sentiment by signaling confidence from a prominent long-term investor, although it does not change Mastercard’s operating outlook. Bill Ackman Just Made His Biggest Portfolio Overhaul in Years
• Positive Sentiment: A partnership with Klook targets growing travel and experiences spending across Asia Pacific. Mastercard cardholder benefits and additional travel-related payment touchpoints could support transaction volume in a high-growth region. Klook and Mastercard collaborate to enhance travelers’ experiences across Asia Pacific
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard will participate in the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference on September 10, where CFO Ling Hai is scheduled to speak. Investors may look for updates on growth, margins and capital allocation, but no new financial information was provided. Mastercard to Participate in Upcoming Investor Conference
• Neutral Sentiment: Mastercard’s name appears as a supporter of an XRPL/Ripple hackathon, but reports caution that the sponsorship does not represent a new cryptocurrency partnership or major product launch. Mastercard’s Name Is on the Ripple Hackathon, But Don’t Get Ahead of Yourself

Insider Activity

In related news, insider J. Mehra Sachin sold 7,444 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $577.13, for a total value of $4,296,155.72. Following the sale, the insider owned 40,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,613,851.08. This represents a 15.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Michael Miebach sold 16,628 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $567.68, for a total value of $9,439,383.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 115,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,806,033.28. This trade represents a 12.54% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 71,357 shares of company stock worth $40,637,262. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on MA shares. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Mastercard from $664.00 to $667.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $670.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wolfe Research increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $680.00 to $740.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $701.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Mastercard from $640.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $664.71.

Mastercard Stock Performance

NYSE:MA opened at $595.51 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.96. The company has a market capitalization of $521.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $549.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $519.62. Mastercard Incorporated has a twelve month low of $464.52 and a twelve month high of $601.62.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $5.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.77 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.08 billion. Mastercard had a net margin of 46.34% and a return on equity of 239.99%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.15 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Mastercard Incorporated will post 19.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mastercard Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 9th were given a dividend of $0.87 per share. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 9th. Mastercard’s payout ratio is currently 19.14%.

About Mastercard

Mastercard Incorporated is a global payments technology company that operates a network connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 200 countries and territories. The company facilitates electronic payments and transaction processing for credit, debit and prepaid card products carrying the Mastercard brand, while also providing a range of payment-related services to issuers, acquirers and merchants. Its technology and network enable authorization, clearing and settlement of payments and support a broad set of use cases including point-of-sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.

Beyond core transaction processing, Mastercard offers a suite of value-added services such as fraud and risk management, identity and authentication tools, tokenization and digital wallet support, cross-border and commercial payment solutions, and data analytics and consulting services for merchants and financial partners.